Finance & Funding

Road projects in Nepal will benefit from a further US$55 million of funding from the World Bank. The funding will be used for Nepal’s Road Sector Development Project (RSDP). The RSDP calls for a series of works right across the country, including the construction of 33 bridges, maintenance to 355 bridges and 700km of existing roads and a detailed analysis of Nepal’s road network.

A series of major road and bridge projects is now underway in India. One of the most notable is the US$500 million project to build a new bridge spanning the River Ganges, which will be the longest in the country. Financing for the 9.8km bridge has been provided in the shape of a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The new link will be located close to Patna and is spanning both channels of the Ganges at this point and it features a cable-stayed design. The new bridge is required as the original str

New Zealand has plans to rebuild transport infrastructure damaged by the recent earthquake. Road as well as rail links were damaged by the earthquake in Kaikoura and the rebuilding will include measures to provide protection against future such problems, as well as improving safety. The work will cost an estimated US$1.03 billion (NZ$1.4 billion). Another project being planned is the rebuilding of Kaikoura Harbour, which was also damaged by the earthquake.

Expropriation costs are rising for two major Thailand motorway projects, according to the Department of Highways director-general Thanin Somboon. Around US$165 million were estimated to be needed about eight years ago for the 96km Bang Yai-Kanchanaburi motorway project. However, the latest estimate is about $610 million, said highways director-general Thanin Somboon. This is on top of the estimated construction cost of around $1.2 billion, he said. For the 109km Nakhon Pathom-Cha-Am motorway projec

Serbia and Bosnia have started talks on constructing a fast highway between the Serbian capital Belgrade and Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbian Vice President Zorana Mihajlovic met with the Bosnian minister of transport, Ismir Jusko, to agree on forming a joint working group to consider routes and road construction, according to the Serbian newspaper B92. Mihajlovic said that Serbia's main focus is for building the 100km Pozega-Visegrad section, of which 60km is in Serbia and 40km in

Germany has boosted its transportation infrastructure spending for 2017. The biggest slice of the budget - 42% - goes to the labour and social welfare ministry, followed by the military which gets just over 11% of the money, €36 billion, up €2.7 billion. The total budget of the German Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure amounts to €26.8 billion, up 9.2% or €2.2billion from this year. Of this €26.8 billion, €13.7 billion will be invested in infrastructure. This will grow in 2018 to €14.4 b

Guatemala is pushing ahead with a plan to develop its road network. The expansion programme will see over US$225 million being spent on improving the country’s road connections during 2017. The work calls for the construction of 1,600km of roads, which will help improve access to many rural areas. Tolled highways will also be completed in Barberena and Chimaltenango. Funding will come partly from the general road authority, Direccion General de Caminos (DCG) and from the cooperation fund Fondo de Solidarida

The UK’s Highways England has awarded four new-style road contracts worth over €360 million for road works in northern England. Two 15-year maintenance and response contracts expected to be worth up to €314 million have been awarded, one to Kier Highways and the other to a joint venture of CH2M and Costain. The Asset Delivery contracts, which will start on 1 April, will see Kier Highways operating in the rugged county of Cumbria. The CH2M-Costain JV operating in the North East will deliver routine h

The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link between Danish and German islands faces ongoing delays that are pushing a construction start past this year and well into 2018. A meeting in mid-December between Danish traffic minister Ole Birk Olesen and his German counterpart Reinhard Meyer for the neighbouring German state of Schleswig-Holstein, highlighted mounting opposition against the €7 billion or more project. During the meeting, Meyer stressed that the Schleswig-Holstein government remains determined to implement

Construction work to widen the Autopista Norte highway in Colombia is being handled by the Accenorte consortium. The work involves widening a 4.2km stretch of the highway, which lies to the north of Colombia’s capital Bogota. The project is worth close to US$157 million, with the majority of the funding being delivered by the consortium partners and the remainder from a Colombian Bank. The consortium is led by Mincivil with a 57.43% stake. It also includes Universal with a 16.7% share, Castro Tcherassi with